Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Now I wish I'd tried it when I was over there... In today's newspaper.

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Government tells Australian cafe owner in Toronto to destroy $8,000 worth of Vegemite
Leighton Walters, founder of Found Coffee, has been given notice from the Canadian government that his imported Vegemite does not meet federal standards

Author of the article:
By Chris Knight
A Toronto cafe owner has run afoul of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency over the sale of Vegemite by his small chain of restaurants.

Leighton Walters moved to Toronto in 2019 after working in coffee shops across Australia and Indonesia for 18 years, and founded Found Coffee, which now has locations in Toronto and Guelph.

The restaurant has Vegemite — a food spread popular in Australia — as part of some of its dishes, and sells it directly to customers as well. It even sells Vegemite-branded sneakers, hats, towels and scarves.

“I grew up as a Vegemite kid eating it for breakfast every second day,” Walters told CBC Toronto. “It’s an iconic Australian product. We’ve been so proud to serve it to thousands and tens of thousands of Australians, Canadians, travellers and tourists.”

The product, which uses “Tastes Like Australia” as one of its slogans, is to Australians what maple syrup is to Canadians.

But in January the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told Walters that a batch of Vegemite he had just received was non-compliant with Health Canada regulations.

“The Vegemite product being sold was found to have added vitamins which are not permitted in this product as per the Food and Drug Regulations and is therefore not permitted to be sold in Canada,” a CFIA spokesperson told CBC in an email.

As a result, Walters must destroy about $8,000 worth of the product.

The story has gained traction around the world, with pointed interest from Australia, where even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has weighed in on the matter during his campaign for re-election in May.

“I stand with the Aussie cafe owner,” Albanese said when he heard the news from a reporter while on the campaign trail. “I can confirm here today that I am pro-Vegemite. And, indeed, I actually put a lot of Vegemite on my toast when I ate bread.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, campaigning for re-election, says he is pro-Vegemite.
In a video posted to an Australian news site, Walters explained that he woke up from surgery to the news. He said he was “absolutely floored because Vegemite is still available on Amazon … but the CFIA saw that we were an importer of record for a pallet of Vegemite once a year and gave us an inspection notice and demanded for all of it to be taken off the shelf and Vegemite to be taken off our menu.”

In the video, Walters says he has spina bifida, a birth defect that can be caused by a lack of folate at conception.

“One of the major things that Vegemite adds to everyone’s daily diet is a high amount of folate, which helps minimize neural tube defects and minimizes the chance for anyone to ever go through what I’m been through,” he explains.

He adds: “This is now a huge battle that I really didn’t want to fight for the sake of $8,000 worth of Vegemite that we have left.” But he says he has received supports from Canadians and Australians alike.

“We’re going to try our best to push back and do what’s right and make sure that we can just sell our bloody Vegemite.”

 

Unfortunate for the vendor, but food safety rules differ from country to country. One of the concerns many in the UK have is that any tariff agreement with Trump will demand that US beef which has been pumped full of steroids and other stuff, and poultry which has been washed in chlorine, will have to be allowed into the UK. All those chemicals are banned from use in animals in the UK

 

@Fourmerkland , as @KT53 states, if it’s a more modern plug and taps system, the actual has plug to be adjusted where the little screw is that sits at the bottom of the plug stem to control the water outflow. When we moved here I had never encountered modern plug systems before and we had lots of fun ( ) ( not) trying to work them out. Bathroom sink has a pull up/push down lever at the back of the taps to control the plug and the bath has a device thing on the side of the bath, just underneath the taps, that we have to turn to left or right depending on whether we are letting water in or out.
The sink plug though, is a master of nonsense and irrelevances, masterminded by some body who needs a wage packet, to incur the wrath of customers as much as possible. We found out that to control the outflow of the water, we had to physically take out the plug and adjust the screw at the bottom. Whoa betide us if, one day, we turn that just that little bit too far, the wrong way, and we lose the nut down the sink.

Give me a hole and a plug on a chain any day.

 

I've heard of Vegimite but never eaten it ( not a fan of "spreads" other than butter ) so no idea what it actually consists of. Did the latest batch contain some extras which aren't allowed under Canadian law or has the Food Inspectorate only just found out that the restaurant owner was selling it ?

 

Vegemite is the vegetarian equivalent of Marmite, isn't it?

 

Thank you @Songbird
Our sink has a hole, and a plug on a chain. Something I insisted upon, when making the choice.
Maybe I should have chosen a sink that holds a bowl, like in the kitchen. Okay, it might look odd, but I wouldn't have water loss!!
Even better, I could just not bother washing at the sink, and shower once a week!!

 

Marmite is also vegetarian - at least, that's what it says on the jar.

Sorry, just checked. It says "vegan".

Bovril is the meaty alternative.

 

I’m pretty sure Marmite is vegetarian, being a yeast extract, maybe you were thinking of Bovril, which is beef? I do like Marmite, tried Vegemite once (Australians in the tent next to ours) but I didn’t like it, definitely tasted different.
I concur on avoiding the shops today! I had to stop for supplies for this afternoons visitors, and the car park at Waitrose was jam packed. OH had to drop me by the door, and park at the far end. ( I like to leave him in the car with a book, he is more of a hindrance than a help.)
OH does our plumbing jobs, he is a very skilled amateur. We have had two basin plugs fail on us, and he hasn’t got round to fixing them yet. Both are push up with a lever types. One has seized up completely, luckily it’s in the infrequently used ‘downstairs’ loo ( we live in a bungalow!) and there is a mixer tap, so not crucial. The other is in the guest bathroom, and I suspect the lever underneath the basin needs tightening up. OH is avoiding that one, as it will involve kneeling on the floor to get to it. I have temporarily solved that by lifting out the metal ‘plug’ and using a cheap regular one instead.
Just waiting for our visitors to arrive. We have a sensor that beeps in the house when anyone comes up the drive, usually very useful, but today there has been a steady stream of rabbits, crows and squirrels, all creating false alarms!

 

I don't think anyone would force you to buy it.

I notice the UK has banned some meat and cheese products from the EU, apparently they have a foot and mouth outbreak.

 

I've never understood this obsession that Aussies have with Vegimite.
I can remember many years ago my cousin moved to Australia and when she came back for a visit brought back jars of Vegimite as gifts.
I even got a birthday card with a reference to Vegimite.
Totally weird.

 

Yes, the Easter rush is on @ViewAhead. I was held up in traffic queues on the A9 today as the holiday season here has got underway. Looking at the registration plates of vehicles, most around me were English (Scottish plates start with an 'S') and no doubt starting there trip around the North Coast 500 course.

 

Marmite and vegemite are made from yeast from the brewing of beer and then cooked and sterilised. They have similar compositions and contain a lot of vitamins especially B group ones.
However Marmite is not vegemite. Vegemite is an Australian product similar to marmite in terms of ingredients and processes, but it is made from the yeast from Australian beer and will taste different.
Bovril is a beef extract made from beef and beef bones.